Things are so simple when you pick and choose which externalities you want to worry about.

And I always love the argument of "raising wages = raising prices" when those two things are assumed to cancel each other out perfectly or that somehow the higher prices will outstrip gains in wages. That's just one step below (and usually quickly followed by) the "durr... why not make the minimum wage $100/hour derp".

I actually measure the cost of healthy food that I buy in McDoubles. A few tomatos and a head of lettuce? About 5 McDoubles. A pound of carrots? One or two McDoubles. So heavily subsidized, that all of the processing and transport that goes into a McDouble allows them to offer it for less than locally grown produce. Awesome.

The money line:"If the macrobiotic Marxists had their way, of course, there'd be no McDonald's, Walmart or Exxon, because they have visions of an ideal world in which everybody bikes to work with a handwoven backpack from Etsy that contains a lunch grown in the neighborhood collective."

I grew up somewhere with no McDs so I never had their food as a child, first time I ever went in one was at age 15, I wanted to use the bathroom but I was on LSD and the whole experience was so plastic (even the lighting and air in there seemed plastic) that I left and have never returned.So, I'm that guy, I've never eaten McD, but not because I'm a smug hipster, more because I'm odd.

When I'm not sure if there's dinner at home and I'm late getting off work, I'll grab a McDouble (no onions) and/or sometimes a McChicken. They look like about the least destructive things on the dollar menu.

YoOjo:I grew up somewhere with no McDs so I never had their food as a child, first time I ever went in one was at age 15, I wanted to use the bathroom but I was on LSD and the whole experience was so plastic (even the lighting and air in there seemed plastic) that I left and have never returned.So, I'm that guy, I've never eaten McD, but not because I'm a smug hipster, more because I'm odd.

I avoided eating at Burger King until I was 19 or so. Just so I could say I never ate at Burger King. I guess I was a smug hipster before there were hipsters.

The McDonald's restaurants here have a thing called a Daily Double: a McDouble with lettuce and tomato added. Putting a small fries and drink with it comes in just a little over $3 And it is delicious.

YoOjo:I grew up somewhere with no McDs so I never had their food as a child, first time I ever went in one was at age 15, I wanted to use the bathroom but I was on LSD and the whole experience was so plastic (even the lighting and air in there seemed plastic) that I left and have never returned.So, I'm that guy, I've never eaten McD, but not because I'm a smug hipster, more because I'm odd.

Ha, McDonalds might be the worst place to go when you're on acid!

I also got really freaked out walking through a grocery store once. Luckily I got over it and can continue to sustain my existence...

"Junk food costs as little as $1.76 per 1,000 calories, ... A 2,000-calorie day of meals would, if you stuck strictly to the good-for-you stuff, cost $36.32, said the study's lead author, Adam Drewnowski."

This dude is a farking moran, this means you would have to spend over $1000 per month to eat the "good-for-you stuff." Here's the article he is refering too, it says:

"Energy cost of foods in the bottom quintile of energy density, beverages excluded, was $18.16/1,000 kcal as compared to only $1.76/1,000 kcal for foods in the top quintile."

YoOjo:I grew up somewhere with no McDs so I never had their food as a child, first time I ever went in one was at age 15, I wanted to use the bathroom but I was on LSD and the whole experience was so plastic (even the lighting and air in there seemed plastic) that I left and have never returned.So, I'm that guy, I've never eaten McD, but not because I'm a smug hipster, more because I'm odd.

It's been close to 20 years that I've ordered anything besides a Coke at McDonald's and even then it was only because some friend insisted on going.

The last straw was when the fries were burned and the hamburger was made of cardboard. McDonald's has enough competition that I don't have to put up with that.

gfid:YoOjo: I grew up somewhere with no McDs so I never had their food as a child, first time I ever went in one was at age 15, I wanted to use the bathroom but I was on LSD and the whole experience was so plastic (even the lighting and air in there seemed plastic) that I left and have never returned.So, I'm that guy, I've never eaten McD, but not because I'm a smug hipster, more because I'm odd.

It's been close to 20 years that I've ordered anything besides a Coke at McDonald's and even then it was only because some friend insisted on going.

The last straw was when the fries were burned and the hamburger was made of cardboard. McDonald's has enough competition that I don't have to put up with that.

I think there's a very strong probability that their coke is made out of plastic.

The argument is an interesting one, but there is a flaw - we don't know how many people eat McDonald's because they can't afford better quality food vs. how many people eat it just because that's what they choose to eat.

born_yesterday:I actually measure the cost of healthy food that I buy in McDoubles. A few tomatos and a head of lettuce? About 5 McDoubles. A pound of carrots? One or two McDoubles. So heavily subsidized, that all of the processing and transport that goes into a McDouble allows them to offer it for less than locally grown produce. Awesome.

But we all know fast food makes us fat, right? Not necessarily. People who eat out tend to eat less at home that day in partial compensation; the net gain, according to a 2008 study out of Berkeley and Northwestern, is only about 24 calories a day.

There's more to nutrition than calories, genius. Compare fat, cholesterol, and sodium (19g, 62mg/22%, 850mg/35%... huh, honestly that's lower than I thought.) to eating a similarly sized "meal" at home.

Okay, I gotta be honest, those numbers are way lower than I expected to be. Just don't get fries and that burger's really not bad if you're in a pinch. There are better options. And this is kind of exactly what "localvore, organic veggie foodies" or whatever are talking about, that nutritious food and things like fruits and vegetables, ready to eat (or at least remotely ready, not requiring much prep time) are always more expensive than dollar menu stuff.

YoOjo:I grew up somewhere with no McDs so I never had their food as a child, first time I ever went in one was at age 15, I wanted to use the bathroom but I was on LSD and the whole experience was so plastic (even the lighting and air in there seemed plastic) that I left and have never returned.

Well good news[1], it wasn't that you were all hopped up on goofballs, it was that that's just the way McD's really are.

[1] May not actually be good news. Void where prohibited. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.